Originally I planned to complete all construction of the layout and then have several operating sessions before starting to add any scenery.  Well, that plan has changed a bit.

There are several areas of the layout's upper level which will have deep reach in distances after layout completion.  Specifically two corners and the area over the lower level Gravesend Yard.  Even after curving the corners with masonite the reach in distance for any scenery construction and the addition of backdrops would make the work difficult at best.

If you recall the shape of the room, it is 41 feet long and 14 feet wide.  You enter the room at the approximate center of one of the long walls.

On the upper level to your right is the large Fuhgeddaboudit Yard.  In front of you, on the upper level, are the towns of Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights with the Kosciusko Bridge spanning the Gowanus Canal.  Directly below them will be Gravesend Yard with a bump out for the round house and locomotive servicing area.

A short break for an American history lesson.

Fort Greene is the neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY where I attended high school.  Fort Greene is named after General Nathaniel Greene one of the heroes of the Revolutionary War.  The Gowanus Canal is named after the Native American chief Gowanee.  The Kosciusko Bridge is named after Thaddeus Kosciusko, a Polish officer, who fought with us during the Revolution.  There is a Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park honoring the 11,500 men and women who died on the British prison ships after the Battle of Long Island.

I tried to find models that resembled the monument and my old high school but so far nothing close.  See images below.  The high school is the large building in the center.

I made building mockups out of construction paper using the foot prints of the structure kits I currently own and staged them to create towns and to test fit.

Below is Fort Greene looking towards the coal mine at New Utrecht which is one of the corners I mentioned previously.

The coal mine at New Utrecht.  A UP 2-10-2 is leading a freight on the mainline down grade to the lower level while the NY Central A-B-A set of Erie Built units has finished its climb upgrade.  In the background is an A-B set of Pennsy F-3's waiting at the coal mine.

New Utrecht downtown area in the corner.  Note the masonite in the corner.  New Utrecht station is to the right with the tail end of the Erie led freight.

This next image is from opposite New Utrecht station looking along the 14 foot wall toward the coal mine.  The tracks closest to the edge of the benchwork are mainline.  The NY Central 4-6-4 is pulling a passenger train on the upper level branch line.  The tracks for the coal mine are behind.  These tracks will join the branch line and then the main further along the long wall to the right.

Next steps:

Select the back drops.  I plan use a combination of printed and painted back drops but have not determined the specifics.

Build, paint and weather approximately 18 structure kits and prewire them for lighting.

I want to get this done over the next few months so that I can start the lower level construction.